DANBURY, Conn. – Western Connecticut State University and Trinity College (Conn.) combined to rack up 101 kills and hit .261, handing the Keene State College women's volleyball team a pair of losses on Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.  The Owls lost to WCSU 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 18-25) in their Little East Conference opener and the Bantams 3-1 (12-25, 19-25, 25-21, 21-25).

KSC (6-9, 0-1 LEC) hit .142 as a team over the two matches, including .167 against Trinity, but saw a combined five different people on the opponents record double-digit kills.  Helen Megson racked up 14 kills against only one error while hitting .464 as the Wolves (9-6, 1-0 LEC) beat the Owls for a third straight time (all in straight sets) for the first time in 20 years.

Keene State had only one lead against WestConn, 3-2 in the third set, and although they hung around in each set, only strung runs of three or more points together three times (three twice, four once).  In the first, KSC trimmed a 17-9 advantage to 22-19 after a 10-5 push that ended with two kills by Marina Miller and an ace by Theresa Norris, but Megson answered and WCSU closed by scoring the final three.

The Wolves doubled up the Owls early in the second, opening leads of 10-5 and 12-6 before KSC hit back with another 10-5 burst to get back within one as Gigi Stake and Molly Wetherbee swings made it 17-16.  Wetherbee had two more spikes shortly thereafter, and a kill by setter Alexis Small had the Owls within 21-19, but Megson's swing and an ace by Delia Clouden accounted for two critical points and the Wolves scored four of the final five to take a 2-0 match lead.  KSC's only point after getting within two came on a Clouden service error.

Neither team gained more than a three-point advantage in the third set until the hosts scored three in a row – all on KSC errors – to make it 15-11, forcing an Owl timeout.  Sarah Bartels immediately fired down two kills after the stoppage to keep the visitors in it, but four straight spikes by the Wolves made it a six-point gap (19-13) and the Owls never seriously threatened again, going down 23-16 following three consecutive points by Krysti McDonald.  Keene State's final kill of the match came off the hand of Wetherbee, which made it 19-15.  After that, only two WCSU service errors and one attack error resulted in KSC's points.

Wetherbee finished with nine kills and attacked at a .333 clip for the Owls.  Miller had eight spikes but was limited to a .034 attacking percentage.  Megson and McDonald (.296 pct.) combined for 24 kills for WCSU.  The hosts limited the Owls to just two aces in the match and without a block, nullifying their 12 service errors.

KSC last lost three in a row to Western Connecticut from 2002 through 2004.  They had won 19 of the previous 21 meetings before losing to the Wolves in 2022.

The Owls were unable to turn it around against Trinity (11-1) in the day's second match, as the Bantams hit .233 or better in all four sets, getting 16 kills from Eva Lekovic, 13 from Ellie Gordon, and 10 without an error (.556 pct.) from Bella Caffuzzi.

KSC received impressive efforts from Sarah Bartels, who finished with 12 kills on .290 hitting, 11 assists, and 15 digs, and Gigi Stake (9 kills, .240 pct., 7 digs), but the Bantams were plus-14 in digs and used a fast start to take command.

In the opening set, the Owls found themselves trailing 11-3 right away and never got much closer, with Trinity firing off six points in a row to balloon an 18-10 lead to 14.  They cashed in on a set point three rallies later on Caffuzzi's kill.

Keene State started the second far stronger, scoring the first two points before later taking a 14-11 lead on an ace from Bartels to cap a 4-0 run.  However, Trinity responded with five straight points to jump back in front by two and widened their advantage to 20-16 on an ace by Chloe Gentile, scoring four of five after the Owls made it 16-15.  A Miller kill and Grace Christian ace out of a KSC timeout trimmed the deficit to two, but as was the theme of the day, the Owls could not sustain momentum long enough.
 
Lekovic found the floor on the ensuing point and kicked off a run of four straight for the Bantams, who closed in on a 2-0 match lead with a 24-18 edge and Caffuzzi ended a 25-19 victory two points later.

Staring at another 11-3 deficit and a second straight sweep on the day, the Owls came roaring back in the third to post a 25-21 win, closing on an extended 22-10 run behind five kills apiece from Bartels and Stake.  KSC hit a match-high (for either team) .293 in that set, forcing a third tie at 14-14 after six in a row capped off an 11-3 surge.  Stephanie Olah and Bartels gave the Owls their first lead at 17-16 with consecutive kills, and KSC later took a 23-19 edge on an ace by Small.  The Owls would close out an uplifting set victory to force a fourth set by getting swings from Stake and Wetherbee.

KSC carried the momentum over in a big way, scoring six of the first seven points in the fourth and still led 15-11 later on a kill by Wetherbee.  However, down 16-12, Trinity embarked on a critical 9-1 run to flip the match, going in front 21-17.  Keene State scored three straight to seemingly make it a fight to the finish, but Caffuzzi and Gordon kills put the Owls back down three and facing match point, which Lekovic cashed in on to finish her team-leading offensive effort.

The Owls have lost their last two against Trinity since sweeping them on the road in 2017.

"WestConn has a talented setter putting all her hitters in good situations, and she really kept us guessing on defense," said Keene State head coach Jake Girard.  "Trinity was much bigger than us physically.  We struggled playing against that size block.  It was good to take the third and hang in there in the fourth."

"I feel as if we have the skill and strategies.  What we need to develop is the consistency and mental part of the game."

Trinity beat WestConn 3-1 in the day's final match, with Lekovic (11), Gordon (10), and Annette Schlunk (10) all notching double-digit kills.  WCSU hit only .068.

Keene State returns home to host Vermont State University Castleton for a Little East Conference match on Wednesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m., while WestConn visits the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) on the same day.  Trinity visits Wesleyan University (Conn.) on Friday (October 4) for a NESCAC match (6:00 p.m.).